Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

Hi,

I posted long ago about my trip to germany and how I had to go to the hospital for an irregular heart beat when trying to fly back, I went to the doc and im waiting for holter results, but I want to clear something up though...

On the day that I flew there I had a fast heart beat and palpitations, I know it was because of anxiety but the thing is that I had a fast pounding heart for more than 10 hours in the air and then 7 extra hours when I waited in london for my other flight...When I arrived and went to bed I noticed my heart was VERY VERY slow...probably because I completely wore it out or something, I thought I wouldnt wake up after how slow it was but I still went to bed cause I just diddnt care and was too tired.

Fast forward for about a month and thats when I had the same thing happen when I tried to fly back except I noticed that when I my heart went very fast and was pounding...the rhythm was completely irregular...It felt like after every sixth beat that it stopped for a few seconds and then restarted, trust me I felt my pulse and I couldnt feel it for a short pause, people assured me that it diddnt stop but that it was something else...I also noticed that it would also suddenly slow down for like 3 beats and then again go super fast and then stop...then there would be a very strong beat suddenly, it was just chaotic. Yes I did go to the hospital, doc found something but wouldnt tell me and just said to see a cardiologist as soon as possible...

so my question is, what would happen when you have palpitations for like a whole day and a fast heart beat too? did I damage my heart because I left it go on like this or what?

Re: Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

I had a similar experience a few weeks ago. My heart would stop every few beats and then start again. It did it again and again for an hour and I finally got really freaked out and went to the ER. Of course , by the time I got there it had regulated itself, so they couldn't tell me what had happened.

I really doubt you damaged your heart, though. One day doesn't seem long enough to stress it. But I don't know.

Re: Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

It sounds like PACs or PVCs. I have similar symptoms as the ones you've described. Although I don't have a lot of anxiety I do have insomnia and it makes my palps much much worse. When I was on vacation visiting my dad they were awful. The unfamiliar sleeping, eating, activity routine was very triggering.

I'm not sure what your dr saw that he was concerned about but if it had been very serious you'd be on meds and would have been observed while waiting for the cardio to visit you in your hospital room . It's unlikely that any permanent harm was done. Most irregular rhythyms are harmless. Some people have an irregular beat every other one and other than being annoying at times it's fine.

Re: Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

If palp lasted a whole day.......

I think it depends on what kind of palp, on medication or not and the person tuff or not? Some, first time has the palp and collapesed or has heart damaged.

I had the non stopped SVT for 2 days and 2 nights, it was on medication. It also not one time but had many many times like that. It concerned as lucky but wasn't know the lucky will stay forever or not. I wasn't shown any heart damaged so far. I was collapesed few time but all woke up by myself. Once was collapesed beside the bed at hospital ward (palps lasted more than 24 hours). No one noticed. I climbed back up the bed by myself. It was a big lump on my head. Few drs and nurses zoomed in after that. All palps had gone left with a normal beats. They all moved their views to that big lump. They said I had built a multi-storey complex on my head.

Just have to be careful. If palp lasted more than a day, you probably will receive faint (collapes). The best advise is go to ER let them treated before you faint.

Re: Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

I have fainted several times myself but no real cause has ever been found in 12 years from the first time it happened.I do have palps every now and then no fast beats just skips,flutters,quivers anyway ive had 3 monitors the last one did show some premature contractions but I was told nothing to be concerned over.My heart will also pause and things sometimes like others here I think I am growing used to it when it happens I dont spaz as bad anymore I try to just keep on keeping on.

Re: Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

would like to know when you were on the plane did any of the crew members try to help you. I have mitral valve proplase. I had a rapid heartbeat of 239 beats per minute, thank god I was in the Hospital visiting my mom. It was four years ago, the nurse brought me to the ER and the Drs. massage the carotid artery in my neck, did not work, then they gave me meds to stop my heart and restart it. During the whole time I felt ok, just thought my heart was goint to burst. after it went back to normal I was released and had to follow up with cardio Dr. never found out what caused it I was told to stop caffeine , chocolate, MSG etc. and was put on toprol XL. was ok untill a few months ago and It happpen again but this time my heart felt like it was doing the rumba in my chest, I guess it was beating irregular. anyway I wore the record monitor for three weeks and nothing happen so the Drs. said when it happens again to call. Anyway the reason I'm writing is I have to go to Fla. I don't like to fly at all but 3 hrs. flying vs. 20 hrs driving but I'm terrified if this happens on the plane. I will have a panic attack. So I decided to drive, so if it happens I can go to the ER. Has anyone else felt this way.

Re: Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

When this happened I was about to BOARD my airplane, you see, they wouldnt let me on because they said I wasnt fit to travel and then I went to the hospital.

I have a friend who is also my age (18) and she told me that her heart went over 200 before and she collapsed and things like that, she told me that they are STILL looking for answers too...why is this happening to us?

I have one more question though...yesterday I ate two toasts an immediately I got really bad palpitations, by really bad I mean that they hit pretty hard and sometimes even hurt, I feel it hurts a little when I let all the air out of my chest, it almost feels like I have a black hole in my chest thats trying to suck my heart in or something...I couldnt sleep the whole night because it lasted that long and I really hope it wasnt angina because it DID feel tight and heavy, like my muscles were trying to crush my heart, too bad I wasnt wearing a holter when that happened.
I also got sensations where it felt like my heart fluttered or like it squirted out pudding, when I get that I sometimes caugh or almost throw up because its so sudden and extremely uncomfortable.

Re: Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

Dear DarkChange --

So sorry to hear of your angst over all of this -- no doubt the airline people scared you more than was warranted (they are naturally worried about their liability) and you probably were exhibiting signs of anxiety/panic along with your palps. In fact, it is obvious from your posts that these heartbeats are really stressing you out in a significant way.

This is not surprising, because most of us DO get really panicky about all of this. The Holter Monitor will undoubtedly clear things up when results are in. I just wore one myself for 24 hours last week. I've had palps/flutters, whatever, for 5 years now. Cardiologist says it's a benign arrythmia/tachycardia situation and I DO have lots of PVCs, especially when under stress, tired, have had any caffeine, etc.

This time around, I had had what seemed like thousands of flutters for four weeks straight (though oddly enough, they don't tend to wake me up at night). The minute I wake up in the a.m., though, the palps start in.

The hard thing to do is totally distract yourself from noticing these blips. Just trying to ignore them doesn't work; you have to truly be distracted. Try some small tests -- go to a movie you've been wanting to see and concentrate on that. Or get into a lively discussion with a friend about some totally different subject. I think you'll find that you will notice the flutters less or not at all during those times.

My Holter result (and I felt flutters the WHOLE waking portion of the 24 hours, I'm not kidding --I was shared to death over it) just revealed lots of PVCs but a normal reading. Now I feel a whole lot better though I still feel the blips. I take a tiny dose of beta blocker, atenolol (25 mg) per day but it doesn't do much except lower my general pulse rate, which ran around 96 for many years. I have been told that no matter what I do, I WILL feel the palps so just accept that. I have gone for weeks/months sometimes with only an occasional palp being felt. The total experience is all over the place -- calm one day and crazed about palps the next. NOT FUN!

Travel causes many of us some of the worst anxiety and changes in eating and sleeping routines make a huge difference too. Try to relax until you hear about the holter monitor result which should be soon. Trust me, they read it within a day of your returning it and if there were something really needing immediate attention, the doctor would contact you.

Please report back so we know how you are doing and what the doctor said about the Holter result.

Re: Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

Hi, cheer up...

Thanks for the very helpful message...you have no Idea how much I have been reasearching about arrhythmias and so on that even friends say that I WILL get a heart attack if I dont stop this...I went to the library even once to look at this book to see how abnormal EKGs look like and how they feel and stuff...then I learned about these PVC's and there was another one but I forgot the name, I might have those too, who knows. you message helped though because to me I'd rather have benign palpitations than coronary artery disease or something like that, thats what im worried mostly about just as long as it isnt that... the other thing is that I read that calf pain COULD mean that you have CAD and there are days where both of my calves would hurt like hell eventhough I diddnt do any kind of exercise, they feel like there are burning and they dont seem to be tender but at certain parts they are, kind of like an inflamation but when I check my temperature its completely fine...my left arm at times feels tight and sometimes hurt too, right arm though very rarely.

Well I dont know where im going with this, I just hope that all this isnt deadly, I know that I have a rhytm proble, Its too obvious but lets just hope it isnt anything deadly.

by the way, do your palps EVER hurt? or do you get nauseus too?

When I get the results I'll make a new thread probably because thats going to take a while or ill just call up tomorrow, I need my blood taken too because the doc wanted to see my cholesterol level eventhough im pretty much like a stick but dont exercise either.

Re: Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

I don't know if you were asking only cheerup or everyone but my palps DO cause pain sometimes. It's a very crushing/pulling type pain. I also get nauseated, light-headed, tingling in my extremeties and short of breath.

As for the cholesterol level it doesn't matter how thin a person is their cholesterol can still be elevated. I am very thin and my triglycerides are high (there's a lot of heart disease at a young age in my family...I was only 27 when my levels were tested).

Re: Need to clear something up...what happens if palpitations last a whole day?

Dear DarkChange --

Yes, I get nauseated sometimes and definitely know about the pain from some palps. Part of the nausea may well be from anxiety/panic about the whole thing, but I would not worry about that if I were you. Lots of people talk about various types of pain from palpitations.

As for your legs and the burning sensation, I don't believe this sounds cardiac related. I believe the experts are talking more about the charley horse type of leg cramps people get, sometimes being awakened from sleep by them. I occasionally have such a cramp during the night or just while sitting down. The other day I twisted my knee a little while driving the car and whoa, the whole calf cramped up and I couldn't wait to get out of the car and start walking on the bad leg. When I did, it was absolutely fine.

If you have occasional cramps in your legs, again I would not be concerned. When it becomes very common you might mention it to the doc because it could be from some sort of disorder -- or nothing!

Sounds like you have done LOTS of research on all of this heart stuff. You mention you are very thin which is good but see what your cholesterol breakdown is as well. A few people inherit their high chol. levels and there's little they can do about them.

I'd say go ahead and call the doc's office about the Holter results. Call Friday, so you know what's going on before the weekend. It really sounds like you are fine to me but let's find out and satisfy YOUR concerns.